Agriculture Mag Off The Press

FEBRUARY AGRICULTURE — This is the cover of the February issue of Agriculture Magazine which is now off the press. The cover story features the important role that garden shows contribute to the development of the ornamental plant business.

The February issue of Agriculture Magazine is now off the press, containing many feature stories that inspire and motivate readers to pursue their selected projects.

The cover story highlights the important role that garden shows are playing to promote the ornamental plant business. This is in time with the ongoing garden show of the Philippine Horticultural Society at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City. The show will end on February 6.

Budding entrepreneurs will be happy to know that there is a place that can help them start their own projects. This is the Center for Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship located at the Science and Technology Park at UP Los Baños.

The CTTE is an enterprise incubator that serves the needs of start-ups and early-stage enterprises, especially in biotechnology and agribusiness. It provides services such as rental or lease of office space, use of production facilities and analytical laboratory services, product development and marketing assistance, training, and assistance with intellectual property considerations. The report was written by Melpha M. Abello.

Then there is the inspiring story about the Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) which won the 4th European Microfinance Award recently in Luxembourg. ASKI is based in Nueva Ecija and has been providing affordable financing to some 19,000 small scale farmers.

The February issue also features the advocacy of Dr. William Dar of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). He is advocating massive soils mapping to help farmers use the right fertilizers and thus enable them to produce optimum yields with the least cost.

Our fisheries columnist, Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, writes about herbal therapy in aquaculture. He cites the herbal preparations developed in Vietnam for the control of fish parasites and diseases.

Then there is the inspiring story of a wonder woman, Delia Nanong, who has been growing Bt corn in Tarragona, Davao Oriental. She is the 2012 winner of the Gawad Saka Award in the corn production category. The story is detailed by Tony Rodriguez, our regular contributor.

You will also read the success story of Almar Cevrero of Bislig, Surigao del Sur. In 1991, Cevrero decided to quit his schooling to become a rubber planter. It was a risky decision but he is not regretting it. Now, he is enjoying the rewards of being a rubber farmer. 

Starting with a two-hectare rubber plantation 22 years ago, he now owns a combined total of 40 hectares planted to rubber in the towns of Bislig and Lingig. And he is planning to add 50 hectares more in the near future. 

Another inspiring story is that of Amado Ipac who grows off-season tomatoes in Sinait, Ilocos Sur. There’s also the success story of rubber farming in Vietnam reported by Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona.

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